All Wounds Page 7

  Especially those useful to their enemies.”

  “You mean...kidnapping?” Rebecca asked, incredulous.

  Syd nodded. “They have not done so as of yet, but demons love war.

  They love conquest. They also know that nothing will get them a war faster than the kidnapping of a Healer. Nothing enrages all other Ethereals—no cause is greater—than that offense. The last Healer taken was Helene MacDonnell. Your mother.”

  My mother? My mother is dead...

  Rebecca swallowed hard. “You’re saying...”

  “Yes,” Syd said in a whisper. “They’ll be coming for you.” chApter Five

  Rebecca stared at Syd for a long moment before she made a noise of disbelief.

  “Yeah, right,” she replied. “If Nana were worried about something bad happening to me, she would have...have...”

  “Have done everything she could to protect you?” Syd finished for her. “That’s what she’s tried to do the whole of your life. After losing her daughter...”

  Rebecca shook her head. “No. You’re wrong. I don’t believe you! Why would they want anything to do with me? I’m no one!”

  “You’re a Healer,” Syd replied in a firm voice. “Whether you want to be or not. Whether you believe that or not. And you have a patient to attend to, so if you please.” He motioned her into the entrance before them. “Martha, of course, knows none of this, and it should be kept that way. There’s no need to upset her, and such news would likely cause her to panic. She draws enough of my power as it is. Frightening her would only increase her need.” Rebecca’s head was swimming, but she nodded like she understood.

  Something inside her pulled at her and settled into some kind of happy relief as she entered the room of healing. She raised her eyebrows at the curtained frame that had been erected around the bed Ryan was on, just like in an old hospital movie. Why would that be here? It wasn’t like there was anyone else to keep him out of sight from. Maybe it had some special purpose she didn’t know about. She went around it and squinted into the darkness behind it.

  Syd gestured into the dark and the candle by Ryan’s bed flared to life.

  Syd took off his dark glasses.

  “Now, I will not allow Ryan to get out of hand, but he’s ravenous. Can you feel his hunger?”

  Though the boy from her school hadn’t moved an inch, and for all intents and purposes looked like he was dead or sleeping very, very deeply, Rebecca felt her insides turn and twist like she hadn’t eaten in weeks, even though she’d just had breakfast.

  She nodded. “I think so. I mean...I feel...something...” Then she was watching herself push her long nightgown sleeve back from her wrist. It felt like she knew what to do automatically, and wanted to do it.

  “Careful,” Syd cautioned, though the warning wasn’t necessary. “They’re often...difficult...when awakened, but your nearness should have awakened him by now. His hunger should have.”

  Rebecca heard the worry in Syd’s voice as she sat down on the bed beside Ryan and, as she had done the night before, pressed her wrist to his mouth.Nothing happened.

  “Oh, now, come on, Stereotype,” Rebecca said, careful to keep her voice quiet. “You said you didn’t want me to get in anymore trouble, remember, and I’m going to if you make me late for school. You know what happened the last time I came in late. Come on, the bus is going to be along soon and I need to get ready...”

  Rebecca moved around and slid her free arm behind Ryan’s head, cradling it. She lifted his head gently and pressed her wrist harder into his mouth. She winced and grimaced as she felt his pointed teeth— fangs, she reminded herself, though it sounded completely silly to call them that—pierce the skin of her wrist.

  Ryan’s eyes flew open, his back arching as his shoulders pressed hard into the bed beneath him. He grabbed Rebecca’s wrist and arm with both hands and bit down hard.

  She yelped and pulled back, trying to get away.

  “Ease,” she heard Sydney’s voice in her ear. She felt his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back toward Ryan. “Close your eyes. Don’t watch.

  Don’t think. Don’t feel.”

  Rebecca did as he said and felt herself relax. Her breathing slowed, and her heart stopped pounding wildly against her ribcage.

  Wow, Sydney’s hands on her shoulders were very warm...nice...

  She felt Ryan release her arm and her wrist fall away from his mouth.

  The hands on her shoulders fell away also and Ryan once again lay still. His eyes were open, but they weren’t looking at anything. It was just a blank stare.

  Blood trickled from the left corner of his mouth. Syd reached past Rebecca with the edge of a cloth and wiped it away.

  “Move away now,” Syd ordered though his voice was gentle.

  Rebecca did as she was told and moved from the bedside back around the curtained frame. Maybe that’s what it was there for. Some kind of...

  power shield. Sydney followed, looking back over his shoulder at Ryan. He looked so worried. Maybe she’d done something wrong. “Sorry. I screwed that up, didn’t I?”

  Syd shook his head. “I said I would help teach you, and that much uncontrolled power could harm him,” he replied. He smiled at her. “I merely assisted. The gift is yours, and you’ve quite the gift, Acolyte. All you lack now is control and a broader education.”

  “Uh, thanks, I think,” Rebecca said, confused. Is he being serious? Or sarcastic? She looked down at her hands and gasped at the deep puncture wounds on her wrist. Blood continued to flow from them, staining her nightgown. She covered it with her other hand and noticed the cloth Syd held in his. “Could I borrow that? He uh...it’s not healing over as fast like it did last night. I think this is a lot deeper. This hurts.”

  “Allow me,” Syd replied, and reached for Rebecca’s arm.

  “What—?”

  He turned her hand over so gently it was more of a caress and brought her wrist to his lips. Closing his dark blue eyes, Sydney licked the wound, then again, sealing the punctures.

  What the—? What was he—? Oh, wow, this is nice. The pain in her wrist faded and Rebecca couldn’t help close her eyes at the rush of...something...

  tingling through her. It was warm, but cold, like shivers, but nice ones. Why hadn’t he done this last night after she’d fed Ryan?

  “Because Martha wouldn’t have thought it...appropriate,” Syd replied to her thoughts.

  Rebecca opened her eyes and blushed. She could see why, if Nana knew what it felt like to have...um...

  What had he been doing?

  “It’s not that she would have objected to such for knowing how it felt,” Syd said aloud, again answering her thoughts. “But because she knows that such things can lead to...the relationship between mentor and apprentice.

  Such things can get out of hand.”

  Rebecca looked at him, confused. “Out of hand? What do you mean?

  You just...helped me, that’s all. Helped me heal, right? Sped things up?” Syd nodded. “Well, that and such gathers up any remaining trace of power your blood might have left on your skin. However, young Healers often...confuse such things. Mistake them for other than their true intent.” Yeah, she could see how things could feel a whole lot different than they were intended, if the way he made her feel when she just looked at him was any indication. Never mind how it felt when he touched her.

  “I am your mentor, your teacher—nothing more. It would do you a service if you’d remember that,” Syd said.

  “Wait, you’re worried I’m going to...what? Fall in love with you or something?” Rebecca asked. A bitter laugh escaped her. “Hey, look, you’re cute and all, and I know you think I’m stupid, but I’m not stupid enough to think a guy as gorgeous as you would be the slightest bit interested in someone like me, let alone interested in me like that, so I wouldn’t waste my time dreaming about something that’s never going to happen like a bunch of those airhead cheerleaders at my school do. I’m not delusional!” Syd shook hi
s head.

  “What?” Rebecca asked, confused. “Am I missing the point? I just told you that you don’t have to worry about me falling in love with you. What’s the problem?”

  “I’m four hundred and twenty years old, Acolyte. A Master,” Syd said.

  “Wow.”

  “Indeed. You are but sixteen—”

  “Almost seventeen.”

  Syd raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Indeed,” he said again. “Almost seventeen mortal years. I was just a year older than you when I was turned, and while I still look a mere mortal eighteen years, I am centuries old. What you just experienced was a whisper of what you’re going to under my tutelage. The mentor-apprentice relationship—especially your first—is a close, emotional, intense one. You are just learning your abilities, discovering and harnessing your power. You’ll be tempted to misuse it, or use it to excess. It will be as exciting as it is dangerous, and you’ll desperately want to share that excitement. Apprentices have been known—often, I might stress—to...develop strong feelings...a deep attachment...to their mentors. It’s not uncommon, especially with a Master vampire. I am warning you now—guard against this. Experience the things you feel as they come, but always remember to put them in perspective. No matter my age, I do remember what it felt like to be as young as you. It is not an age of rationality. Heed my warning, I beg of you.” Rebecca knew her assurance that she wouldn’t fall in love with him was something important to him. She could feel it, somehow. She could sense that he’d been through it before, and didn’t want to have to break another girl’s heart. Or something. He’d probably had to break more than a few, and he probably already had someone waiting at home for him. A mate or a bride or whatever vampires called their significant others. He didn’t need—well, want—some little girl falling all over him, making him uncomfortable when all he was there to do was teach her.

  Not a problem. A professional relationship. Besides, all she had to do was keep reminding herself that he wasn’t even human, no matter what he looked like. And that he was four hundred and twenty! FOUR HUNDRED

  AND TWENTY!

  Talk about an age gap. Oh, yeah. No problem there.

  “I wil ,” Rebecca said, hoping she sounded normal though she knew her face was aflame with the aftereffects of...whatever that had been. She looked at her unblemished, pain-free wrist. “Thanks, Blondie. I mean ‘Syd’.” She forced a happy, teasing smile. “The last thing I need is the school counselor calling me into her office to talk to me about teen suicide rates.” Rebecca felt a twinge below her breastbone and went around the curtained frame to look at the once-again motionless form of Ryan. He was lying just as he had been before, his eyes still open.

  “Is that...normal?” Rebecca asked Syd as he peeked around the curtained frame after her.

  Syd smiled and nodded. “At least, normal for a vampire. We ‘sleep’

  with our eyes open.”

  Rebecca reached to brush a lock of Ryan’s dark hair back from his face.

  She felt his forehead, then inspected her hand. It came away clean. No blood.

  Syd made a noise of approval. “Well, he’s stopped shedding. That’s a good sign.”

  “‘Shedding’?” Rebecca repeated. “Like Nana’s cat does on the furni-ture?”“Surely you’re not implying we’re animals,” he said, smiling in a way that showed his fangs.

  Rebecca gave him an innocent look. “I wouldn’t insult animals with the comparison,” she replied with a sweet smile.

  Syd laughed.

  That strange, warm tingle went through her again at the sound of it.

  Wow, he had a nice laugh.

  Stop it, Rebecca. What did he just say about keeping things in perspective?

  “Shedding blood,” he continued. “Sort of like your sweat. A fledgling vampire sheds his mortality, and part of that is purging his form of the dead blood that ran in his veins. That Ryan has both stopped shedding and is resting with his eyes open says that he’s over the worst and most dangerous part of his transformation. It’s a good thing, Acolyte.”

  “It’s a bit creepy,” Rebecca said, glancing sideways at Ryan’s now dark blue open eyes. She looked at Sydney. “No offense.”

  “None taken,” the Master vampire said with a mocking bow. “I can hear your thoughts, and I understand. Time, however, is beyond my ability to control, and it passes while you stand here talking.”

  “The bus!” Rebecca cried. She was going to miss the bus if she didn’t get going! “Oh my God, bye!”

  Rebecca dashed downstairs. She was dressed and ready for school in record time, and was in the foyer about to put on her jacket when a hand on her arm stopped her from shrugging into it.

  Syd stood there, his dark glasses once again hiding his metallic blue eyes, careful to stand out of the way of the pale morning sunlight coming in the frosted glass of the foyer windows around the door.

  “Be vigilant,” he warned. “The portal has just been recently opened, and as I said, your light shines like a beacon, even now. Also, remember what I told you.”

  He nodded toward the living room and released her.

  Rebecca remembered what he’d said about not worrying Nana. But...

  “I...I don’t suppose I need to lock the door today, do I? For Nana?

  She’ll be fine now, won’t she?”

  “She’ll be fine,” Syd assured her. “It’s not her welfare that concerns me. You know, you should really consider finding a helper. Is there anyone you trust—a friend from school, perhaps—who could lend you a hand...?”

  “A what?”

  “A helper,” he said again. “Someone who isn’t a part of the Otherworlds, but helps you in the mortal realm. For instance, there will be times when you aren’t going to be able to make it to school, and so on. When I first met Martha, she had a helper called Loughman.”

  “I remember Mr. Loughman. He used to live next door,” Rebecca said.

  “He was her helper for many years,” Syd replied. “Until he died. Helpers are hard to find because it has to be someone you can trust implicitly, as they’ll have to keep your secrets, but who also has the strength of spirit to be able to participate in your world. For instance, they may have to assist in holding down a werewolf while you administer medicine, or feed a healing herb to a goblin. You should at least begin to think about someone you could ask.”

  “Well, there is...someone. She’d be perfect. She can definitely keep a secret,” Rebecca said. “She’s been helping me...um...keep the secret about Nana for more than a year now. Sometimes when I have to stay home because. .something’s happened.. Robin hands in notes to the principal’s office excusing me. She’s gotten really good at forging Nana’s signature.”

  “So Ryan has said,” Syd replied. “And speaking of missing school, you’re going to if you don’t hurry.”

  With that, Syd gave Rebecca a little push toward the door and disappeared from the foyer.

  Rebecca didn’t have time to think as she sprinted to the bus stop half a block away and just barely made it. She found a seat near the middle and flopped down in it with a deep sigh.

  Robin was waiting at the school door—her bus always seemed to get there before Rebecca’s, even though it had farther to go and more people to pick up.

  Before Rebecca was even off the bus, Robin was shaking her head.

  “Look at your hair! And is that the same pair of pants you wore yesterday?” Robin clucked her tongue. “Another bad morning, huh? You want a soda or something?”

  It had been a morning all right. Rebecca wasn’t quite sure if it she’d consider it “bad.” All Rebecca could do was nod, and reached for her backpack to get out change for the vending machine.

  Robin didn’t bother waiting for Rebecca to give her quarters as she went to the Coke machine and fed it a handful of coins from her purse.

  “Thanks,” Rebecca mumbled as Robin opened the bottle and handed to her. Rebecca took a deep drink of the soda before offering it back to
Robin. “Will it ruin your diet to share it with me?” Robin rolled her eyes and took the bottle. “Off the diet,” Robin replied before taking a long sip. “Bryan broke up with me.”

  “Oh, Ro, I’m so sorry!” Rebecca said. “I know you really liked him.

  What a jerk, breaking up with you! Why?”

  “Marla Thompson,” Robin said with a grimace. “I really hate that skinny blonde bitch. Just because she has big —” The warning bell cut off what Robin was about to say. She looked at Rebecca and smiled.

  “So a few sugar calories won’t kill me,” she went on. “Neither will the caffeine.”

  Rebecca held up a finger and dug into her bag, coming up quick with a bag of small candies. She offered them to Robin with a smile. “Chocolate cures all wounds.”

  “Oh, Beck, you’re the best!” Robin squealed, hugging Rebecca hard.

  “This is truly the noblest sacrifice a girl can make! Giving up her chocolate!”

  “It’s a worthy cause,” Rebecca said. “Though I suppose if we want to risk detention again we could toilet paper Bryan’s car between classes. I could get to like this ‘delinquent’ rep we seem to be working on.” She eyed the group of popular girls heading toward entering the school. “Your adoring fans have arrived. Thanks for the Coke.”

  Robin halted her with a hand on her arm and looked at her seriously. “I know it seems stupid to be upset about a guy dumping me when you have...

  bigger issues than I do, but thanks for understanding and letting me whine,” Robin said, also glancing at the flock of girls heading her way. “Not one of them would do anything like that for me, or even understand why I care that Bryan dumped me—leaves me free for someone better, you know?—and that’s why you’re a better friend than that entire herd. And you can bet not one of them would give up their chocolate either, no matter who’d dumped me!” As if those skeletons even ate chocolate, Rebecca thought. She smiled and nodded as though Robin had asked to borrow her biology notes or something. She didn’t want to cause Robin any more grief than she already did.